Hope Among Rubble
by Joryn282
Summary: This story takes place the summer after the Reaper War. It is from the perspective of Tali when the Normandy makes it back to Earth. This story was written for the August writing contest in Aria's Afterlife. Shout out to Palaven Blues for being a beta for it.


**Hope Amongst Rubble**

_We finally made it back to Earth. I finally get to see him again._

My mind raced along with the shuttle as it flew across the ruins of London. Warm, summer air poured into the shuttle through the open side hatch that I observed the devastation through. Despite the amount of time that passed, much of the city still looked untouched; buildings in shambles, abandoned vehicles littering the streets, and people working around the clock to clear the rubble and look for survivors. At one point in my trip across the ruins, I witnessed a group of people with a forklift removing a brute corpse from a house.

"Those things smelled before, I can't imagine how it smells as a corpse," Garrus quipped from my right with a quick nudge of my arm.

He stood next to me in the open hatch. Liara and Ashley sat behind me. I was glad to have them with me, and even more so later since the next few hours would prove to be very difficult.

"Goddess! Look at that!" Liara exclaimed behind me, a sense of wonder evident in her voice.

I could already see what took her breath away. In the distance loomed the gigantic hulk of a dead Reaper. It lay on its back, with its arms reaching to the sky, silhouetted by the setting sun behind it, creating one of the most beautifully satisfying panoramas I'd seen since we made it back. It was a scene of hope; that if we defeated an enemy as powerful as the Reapers, then we could survive the aftermath.

"Cortez! Can you stop here for a moment?" I asked our shuttle pilot.

I wanted to preserve that image, and show Shepard when I got to see him. Liara, of course, came up with an even better idea. Instead, she took a picture of me looking out on the hulk. I had to admit, it turned out really nice. She even smiled when she looked at the picture on her omni-tool.

"I think Shepard will like this a lot, Tali," she said while transferring the pic to my own omni-tool.

_I just wish I had something to put it in for him._

"I bet we have a frame somewhere on the _Normandy_ we can put it in," Garrus suggested, almost as if he read my mind.

I thanked him and we continued on in silence. There was just so much to take in. I'd never seen London, or Earth for that matter, before the Reapers devastated it. Now, I wish I could have seen it before the devastation.

I was reminded, then, of the sacrifices that were made to end the war. The geth and EDI were the ones closest to me. After so many years of preparing for war with the geth, and then making peace with them and getting Rannoch back, they were just gone. Not that I really held any strong feelings for them, but they were going to help us rebuild, and possibly even help us get out of these suits. Now, things will take a lot longer without them.

EDI, on the other hand, was a friend. We all mourned her passing, though, perhaps not as much as Joker. He stayed behind on the _Normandy_. I guess, at the time, he couldn't face Shepard. He was hurting too much. Can't say I blamed him. I was a mess of emotions myself, and my love was still alive.

Eventually, the rubble started to clear away, which meant we were getting close. If I was anxious before, the sight of rubble-free streets and parking lots made me so fidgety that I couldn't hide it anymore. Garrus laid a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down, but even he, one of my best friends, couldn't help.

When the hospital finally came into view, after what felt like a lifetime of looking at devastation, I couldn't even hold myself back. Before the shuttle touched down I jumped out of the shuttle, to the broken street a couple meters below. I heard Garrus yell after me, but I didn't stop. Instead, I ran for the hospital as fast as I could. I felt like if I didn't get there fast enough, he would be gone. I could feel tears streaming down my face the closer I got. As I approached the door, a couple of Alliance soldiers moved to intercept, but were stopped by someone commanding them from the second floor balcony. I rushed through the doors and straight to a makeshift desk where some nurses worked.

"Where is he?" I asked frantically. "Where is John Shepard?"

One of the nurses looked at a datapad and told me he was on the second floor. She didn't even finish before I started running again. I didn't wait for a lift, instead taking the stairs two steps at a time until I reached the second floor. I barreled through the door and almost ran into Admiral Hackett. He told them earlier that he would wait for them at the hospital. I tried to push past him, but a gentle hand stopped me.

"I'll take you to him, Admiral Zorah," he offered, quietly.

He held onto my arm, but walked quickly, understanding my urgency.

"It's already been a long recovery for him, and will most likely be even longer still," he explained as they walked. "He was in a coma for a while, but now he just slips in and out of consciousness. He suffered such extensive injuries that he's still hooked up to machines several months later."

I sobbed a little bit when he said that.

"You being here, though, this will help him. He needs you, now more than ever," he finished and stopped in front of a door. "He's waiting for you."

After all that rushing and running, now that I stood in front of that door, I hesitated. The Admiral told me what I would see in there, and I started to wonder if I wanted to see him like that. I remembered his strength, and how it comforted me when I needed it most.

_No. What that means is that it's your turn. He needs you strong for him._

I slowly opened the door and saw him lying there. He looked so weak, so fragile. Machines beeped and toned all around him, and he wore a breathing mask. When he looked at me, however, those blue eyes held all the strength that I remembered. He reached for me with a bruised and bandaged hand, which I promptly, but gently, took.

"I'm here now, John, and I'm not going anywhere," I said to him while starting to sob.

A hand rested on my shoulder. This time Ashley stood over me. She didn't say anything though. In fact, none of them did. Garrus, Liara and Ashley all took seats in the room and sat in silence. Admiral Hackett closed the door and stood in front of it like a silent sentinel.

John squeezed my hand and grunted trying to sit up in the bed.

"Keelah, no! You need to rest," I told him.

That's when I decided there was one more thing for me to do. I momentarily let go of his hand so I could lower the hood of my enviro suit.

"Tali, what are you doing?" Liara asked, concern etched on her face.

"I'm in a hospital room among some of my closest friends. I can do this for him," I explained.

I removed my helmet and let my hair fall down to my shoulders. I took his hand again, and this time leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Some of my tears landed on him, but when I tried to wipe them away, he just shook his head.

We all sat in silence again, until he fell asleep. Liara and Ashley left the room to find some food. Garrus, too, stepped out of the room, but didn't go far. He made a call to the _Normandy_ to get some dextro supplies for us. I couldn't help but smile when I heard him talking through the door.

"Yeah, Vega; when the rest of you come down here can you bring a bunch of dextro rations with you? I can think of at least one person who probably won't be leaving for a long time. Yes, Vega, Sparks. Oh! And can you see if there are any spare picture frames lying around as well? Thanks, big guy."

The conversation reminded me of something else that completely slipped my mind. Fortunately, Admiral Hackett was still being the silent sentinel, hands behind his back and eyes watchful.

"Admiral Hackett. Please let the flotilla know that I'm staying here. This is where I belong."

"Understood, Admiral," he said while he left the room.

_This is definitely where I belong._

I spent the rest of my summer with him. I watched his bruises slowly disappear, his bones heal, and eventually, I helped him through physical therapy. His body would never be the same again, that much I could tell, but I would help him through it all. I didn't know what the future held for us, but I knew this much, our future continued together.


End file.
